Speaking in the Lok Sabha, BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, said, “We are not in favour of carving out a separate nation out of Sri Lanka but are totally against the butchering of the Tamils.”

He also outlined the party's road map for the island's future:

Sri Lanka does not recognise resolution 19/2 adopted by the UNHRC in March 2012 said the country's ambassador to Geneva during an informal meeting on Friday regarding the resolution tabled by the US.

Ravinatha Aryasinha, the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva said:

"The Government of Sri Lanka does not recognise resolution 19/2 and maintains its consistent position that, through resolutions of this nature, what is being perpetuated is a politicized process in a manner which is unfair, biased, unjust, and contrary to the principles of cooperation, genuine dialogue and the founding principles of universality, impartiality non selectivity, that should guide all member states in facilitating the method of engagement and the mandate of the Council."

The full text of his quotes, as outlined in the Asian Tribune, are reproduced below:

1. I am here today, as I do not wish to dismiss the interest taken in Sri Lanka by member and observer states, representatives of international organizations and civil society, irrespective of whether such interest is justified or not. GOSL always has, and continues to remain engaged with all parties seeking a respectful and constructive dialogue on how to move the process of reconciliation in Sri Lanka forward. We hope this spirit of engagement will be reciprocated, and that member and observer states of the HRC will view developments in Sri Lanka with an open mind.

Eight students of Loyola College in Tamil Nadu began a 'fast unto death' on Friday, making key demands including an independent, international inquiry into allegations of war crimes, and a referendum on Tamil Eelam for Tamils in the North-East.

In a statement issued in Tamil, the students argued that was has happened in Sri Lanka was not a case of mere war crimes or human rights violations but a planned genocide of Tamils, and therefore Indian Central and Local Government must acknowledge this and declare it so.

Editorial - 'Sri Lanka lets itself down' - published in the australian newspaper, The Age on Saturday:

Tamil MPs and activists from the North-East who are in Geneva attending the UN Human Rights Council session currently underway, will be questioned and arrested on return if 'they have made statements detrimental to the unitary character of the state', said a prominent government minister to a Sinhala newspaper - Lakbima.

The Ministry of Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities of Sri Lanka announced that 20000 new houses were under construction to aid low income families.

The new construction phase is part of the 'Colombo city revival programme' which looks to construct 40,117 houses by the end of this year.

Bangladesh is now India’s largest trade partner in South Asia, replacing Sri Lanka at the top spot, reported The Island on Saturday.

According to the paper, analysts blame the deterioration of the commercial relationship between the two countries on “tariff issues and India’s growing tensions with Sri Lanka over the Tamil question".

A human rights group in Malaysia has called upon the country to vote against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, as the vote on the US-sponsored resolution at the council draws closer.

Chairman of Suaram, a leading human rights organisation in Malaysia, K. Arumugam said in a press statement,

The Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice has demonstrated the growing militarisation in the North-East of the island, by releasing a set of info graphics earlier this week.

The graphics, released on the group's Facebook page, have been shared hundreds of times in the past few days alone.

See their Facebook page here.